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Rating: “Confirmed, Black Sabbath will reunite with Ronnie James Dio” (Truemetal.it, October 2006).
What!? How many, in the mid-2000s, would have expected to see Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler together on the same stage again? Few, although it was certainly the “forbidden dream” of many.
The news of the unexpected return of Black Sabbath's “mark II”, in that now-distant autumn, truly caught everyone by surprise, even though the usual well-informed had been hinting for months that something was happening behind the scenes.
For the occasion, things are done on a grand scale, with new songs and a world tour already announced. Fans' excitement is through the roof, even though it's frankly not entirely clear why they decided to leave the historic name at home, presenting themselves with the new moniker Heaven & Hell; it matters little anyway, it's just minor legal squabbles.
And in the end, amid one squabble and another, Bill Ward would have stayed home as well (this time too, Bill?!), who, citing the usual “artistic differences,” simply didn’t feel like embarking on months of touring. Therefore, with Vinny Appice's arrival/return confirmed, everything was finally ready to bring back to European stages the formation of the legendary “Mob Rules,” the 1981 LP that still gives chills aplenty today.
In the 2000s, an event almost mandatory for any metalhead – despite the organization often being “less than German” – was the Gods of Metal, a festival that disappeared from the radar, but for a good decade brought some of the best bands in the scene to Italy.
To miss such a reunion would be unthinkable, and rightly so, the organizers went to great lengths to bring Tony Iommi and his associates to Italy for the 2007 edition. Thus, the Anglo-American quartet landed in the Bel Paese for a single major date, that of the Gods of Metal, hosted once again by the Idroscalo in Milan. For that edition, it must be acknowledged, things were done on a grand scale, managing to set up an impressive three-day event, with, among others, Motley Crue, Scorpions, Ozzy, Type O Negative, Blind Guardian, Korn, and Dream Theater. Despite the clamor of the reunion, June 3rd, the day with Ronnie and associates, was supposed to be closed by John Petrucci’s band, evidently more popular in the eyes of the organizers. And how does it end? Dream Theater, like true gentlemen, offered to give up their headlining spot to Heaven & Hell, who thus became the main band of the day: hats off to them.
Needless to deny that, that evening, despite mosquitoes as large as pigeons preying on the fifteen thousand attendees, the air felt like an unmissable event, of “now or never.”
If it was up to “E5150” to create the right atmosphere, “The Mob Rules” in all its power was to ignite the audience’s joy.
If Ronnie James Dio had already long since earned his place among the “living legends”, what can be said of the rest of the group? Tony Iommi, the riff-master par excellence, is a true institution, while the rhythm section Butler/Appice remains one of the most representative in all of heavy metal.
Black Sabbath with Dio – oops, Heaven & Hell! – could practically play any song from their repertoire, easily leaving Ozzy-era tracks at home, and “classic” would always be the most fitting description.
A splendid “Children Of The Sea”, a song that, back in 1980, clearly showcased the potential of the new Black Sabbath incarnation, was followed by the solid “I,” one of the most representative tracks from the reunion that took place in '92. The long “Sign Of The Southern Cross”, after more than twenty-five years, lost none of its charm, while many would have preferred a “Lady Evil” to the following “Voodoo,” but those are secondary matters.
The scripted solo by Vinny Appice, excellent for highlighting the American drummer’s class – and giving the other three a breather – warmed up the audience for “Computer God,” another good extract from “Dehumanizer,” while another of the night’s peaks was reached with “Falling Off The Edge Of The World,” a heavyweight track often overlooked. It's not all about nostalgia, however, and “Shadow Of The Wind” reminds us that Black Sabbath mark II had recently hit stores with the anthology “The Dio Years,” enriched with songs written for the occasion. Despite the vast repertoire, however, it would be the historic album “Heaven And Hell” from 1980 tasked with closing the evening in style, with a chilling triple treat of “Die Young,” the inevitable “Heaven And Hell,” and, as a grand finale, “Neon Nights,” the track that twenty-seven years earlier opened side A of that LP.
But are we here only to remember what a great evening it was? No, because for some time now a nice bootleg of that concert has been circulating, with really good sound quality, perfect for reliving the emotions of that night. It will necessarily appeal mostly to completists and hardcore fans, but it's really a great opportunity to remember the role played by a band like Black Sabbath, with songs, at the time of the concert, thirty years old that seemed written six months prior, so much so that time had not worn them down, without, of course, once again mentioning the charisma and class of the individual artists.
After the concert, among the many comments overheard here and there, there was someone sighing “too bad it will be the last time”... it wouldn't be the last time, Heaven & Hell would go on for some time still, but certainly, no one at the time could have imagined that May 16, 2010 was so close. As usual, always too soon.
Heaven & Hell:
- Ronnie James Dio, vocals
- Tony Iommi, guitars
- Geezer Butler, bass
- Vinny Appice, drums
- Scott Warren, keyboards
CD1:
- E5150
- The Mob Rules
- Children Of The Sea
- I
- Sign Of The Souther Cross
- Voodoo
- Drum Solo
- Computer God
CD2:
- Falling Of The Edge Of The World
- Shadow Of The Wind
- Die Young
- Heaven And Hell
- Audience
- Neon Nights
PS: Thanks to Marco Gulino for the audio
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